Competing for Christ Podcast

Today we are talking to Founder and Director of Playing 4 Eternity (P4E) Sports Ministry Don Weyrick. Through this ministry, Don has reached hundreds, if not thousands, of people through the game of basketball. Don is someone that has let Jesus use him for the sake of the Gospel in sports by running games, tournaments, and leagues that include everyone, no matter who you are.

As you will soon find out, Don just started working with our friends over at CEDE Sports as well! But today, Don shows us all that no matter what you’ve done in your life, your past doesn’t define you. As a matter of fact, Christ may even use your past to help someone else’s present or future.

Listen as we discuss:

• Don's testimony and love for basketball
• Where the idea of P4E Sports Ministry came from
• Using his past experiences to relate to athletes
• Why God uses our past mistakes to help someone else's present/future
• God growing the game of basketball to reach people around the world

NEW MERCH IS NOW AVAILABLE!! Check out the official podcast store for brand new Competing for Christ Podcast merch including trucker hats, sweatshirts, and coffee mugs!

From every sale, half of the proceeds will go to Christian sports organizations that are making a difference for Christ in the world of sports. Use discount code CFC20 to get 20% off your order TODAY!

Subscribe to the show and share this episode!

https://www.competingforchristpodcast.com/

Need encouragement or want to come on the show?

Text me: (904) 463-5917

Email me: [email protected]

Former University of Florida tennis player and current pro tennis coach Jordan Belga joins us today to talk about what he has learned with blending together his love for Jesus and his passion for sport. As someone that has a fascinating journey to get to where he is today, Jordan opens up about some very important topics like finding his worth in Jesus, what he went through as a youth and high school athlete, and more. 

One thing that Jordan and Ken spend some time on today is his platform for athletes called Rooted Competitor. This Instagram page gives athletes and people that love sports an opportunity to open up and just share what they’ve gone through and how they’ve seen Christ move in their lives.

So many have been impacted by this page, and you should check it out: https://www.instagram.com/rootedcompetitor/

Listen today as we discuss:

• The process of blending together a love for Jesus with a love for sports
• Not putting your identity in the wins or the losses
• What Jordan learned from a difficult experience through sport
• Why he started Rooted Competitor
• How his life experiences formed the idea of Rooted Competitor

NEW MERCH IS NOW AVAILABLE!! Check out the official podcast store for brand new Competing for Christ Podcast merch including trucker hats, sweatshirts, and coffee mugs!

From every sale, half of the proceeds will go to Christian sports organizations that are making a difference for Christ in the world of sports. Use discount code CFC20 to get 20% off your order TODAY!

Subscribe to the show and share this episode!

https://www.competingforchristpodcast.com/

Need encouragement or want to come on the show?

Text me: (904) 463-5917

Email me: [email protected]

Can you imagine graduating from college and essentially going right into a collegiate head coaching position? That is exactly what our guest today did! 

Coach Liv Tidmore, Head Coach of the Oglethorpe University volleyball team and Covenant College alum joins the show today to talk about how she is showing Christ while being one of youngest head coaches in the country. Liv graduated with Ken from Covenant in 2022 and was hired as the Oglethorpe Head Coach in 2023, something that she will let she did not see coming.

As she has stepped into this role, she’s already learned so much about how to lead as a Christian in a secular setting, how to represent women in her coaching role, and especially what this opportunity means for her. Listen today as we discuss:

• Her decision to attend Covenant College and why she stayed after a career-ending injury
• How she became a collegiate head coach so quickly
• Thoughts on being one of the youngest college head coaches in the nation
• Bringing Christian values into a non-Christian setting
• Why it's important for women to have leadership roles, especially in sports

NEW MERCH IS NOW AVAILABLE!! Check out the official podcast store for brand new Competing for Christ Podcast merch including trucker hats, sweatshirts, and coffee mugs!

From every sale, half of the proceeds will go to Christian sports organizations that are making a difference for Christ in the world of sports. Use discount code CFC20 to get 20% off your order TODAY!

Subscribe to the show and share this episode!

https://www.competingforchristpodcast.com/

Need encouragement or want to come on the show?

Text me: (904) 463-5917

Email me: [email protected]

The year was 1994 when Charlotte Smith stepped onto the court for the North Carolina Tar Heels in the Women’s Basketball National Championship game. With less than a second to go and down by two, Charlotte got the inbound pass, threw up a prayer, and sunk the shot to clinch the title. One of the greatest shots in the history of college basketball. But unlike any fairytale story that you may hear, this wasn’t the end of Charlotte’s story. 

Charlotte Smith joins the show today to talk about how Christ has affected her life as an athlete, coach, and human being. Throughout our discussion today, you will learn a lot about what she has gone through, and you will also learn of something special that I Am Second has done with her. Check out the new film "Finding Balance", an I Am Second original film of Charlotte’s life as an athlete and coach. You will also hear more about:

• Chasing the immense high of winning a national championship
• How playing overseas transformed Charlotte's spiritual life
• The way she looks at winning/losing now as a coach
• Letting God take control of her life through basketball and beyond
• How she relies on Christ to keep her in the present

NEW MERCH IS NOW AVAILABLE!! Check out the official podcast store for brand new Competing for Christ Podcast merch including trucker hats, sweatshirts, and coffee mugs!

From every sale, half of the proceeds will go to Christian sports organizations that are making a difference for Christ in the world of sports. Use discount code CFC20 to get 20% off your order TODAY!

Subscribe to the show and share this episode!

https://www.competingforchristpodcast.com/

Need encouragement or want to come on the show?

Text me: (904) 463-5917

Email me: [email protected]

Do you look at your sport as a mission field? Through doing this podcast, I have learned that all sports can and should be used as a mission field for those that proclaim Jesus as their savior. We should be willing to show that Christ-likeness in how we perform, compete, train, and interact with everyone we come in contact with.

Phil Morrison, AKA the Basketball Missionary, joins the show today to talk about why God has called him to spread the Gospel while teaching basketball to thousands of people. As a former collegiate and professional basketball player, Phil uses his life experiences to show others what Jesus has done for him, and what he continues to do through him as he travels the world. With an incredible story, listen today as we get to discuss:

• Phil's love for Jesus and basketball
• The best part of playing collegiate and professional basketball
• Using a platform to glorify God globally
• Why he started Hoops for Christ
• "God's sport": the story of James Naismith inventing basketball

NEW MERCH IS NOW AVAILABLE!! Check out the official podcast store for brand new Competing for Christ Podcast merch including trucker hats, sweatshirts, and coffee mugs!

From every sale, half of the proceeds will go to Christian sports organizations that are making a difference for Christ in the world of sports. Use discount code CFC20 to get 20% off your order TODAY!

Subscribe to the show and share this episode!

https://www.competingforchristpodcast.com/

Need encouragement or want to come on the show?

Text me: (904) 463-5917

Email me: [email protected]

On this episode, we are talking to someone that has faced a lot in her life. Today I had the honor of talking with Clay High School volleyball/flag football player, homecoming queen, and one of my sisters, Kenzie Burke. Kenzie has lived a lot of life as an athlete and as a person even though she is just 18. In this conversation, we get to hear about how she has dealt with a massive obstacle in her life: having a hip replacement at 13 years old.

Throughout the injury process, understanding why God brought her through that, and learning how to play sports again after that, she continues to represent the mercy and grace Jesus provides. Listen as we discuss:

• Her story from hip replacement to homecoming queen
• Why she's been so determined to play the sports
• Balancing of working hard with trusting that God has a plan
• How she plans to stay connected with Christ in college
• What she's going to miss most about being a high school student athlete

NEW MERCH IS NOW AVAILABLE!! Check out the official podcast store for brand new Competing for Christ Podcast merch including trucker hats, sweatshirts, and coffee mugs!

From every sale, half of the proceeds will go to Christian sports organizations that are making a difference for Christ in the world of sports. Use discount code CFC20 to get 20% off your order TODAY!

Subscribe to the show and share this episode!

https://www.competingforchristpodcast.com/

Need encouragement or want to come on the show?

Text me: (904) 463-5917

Email me: [email protected]

Detroit Lions long snapper Scott Daly joins us to talk about how he lives his faith out in the National Football League (NFL) and his unique story from someone that was the #1 long snapper coming out of high school. While he attended Notre Dame in college to play football, he says that this is where his faith became a real relationship. He has played on a variety of teams in the NFL, AAF, and XFL until eventually securing his spot on the Lions.

As he has had to trust in God's timing through not playing, getting cut, and through an injury he suffered this past season, Scott gives advice for all athletes that proclaim Christ as their savior. Listen as we discuss:

• How he came to know Jesus
• Relying on God through uncertain and challenging circumstances
• Why a support system can be so crucial for athletes
• Taking a bullet for Dan Campbell
• What God has shown him about trust and mercy
• 4th down chances and conversions

NEW MERCH IS NOW AVAILABLE!! Check out the official podcast store for brand new Competing for Christ Podcast merch including trucker hats, sweatshirts, and coffee mugs!

From every sale, half of the proceeds will go to Christian sports organizations that are making a difference for Christ in the world of sports. Use discount code CFC20 to get 20% off your order TODAY!

Subscribe to the show and share this episode!

https://www.competingforchristpodcast.com/

Need encouragement or want to come on the show?

Text me: (904) 463-5917

Email me: [email protected]

How can we discern what God’s calling is for our lives? For all of us that are born again believers, we all have a call to proclaim the Gospel to the nations and show Christ’s love to everyone we come in contact with. But there’s also the other callings that we have in our lives, such as being an athlete, what job you’re going to do, who you’re going to marry, and so many other things that God calls us into. But that big call that we have as believers never changes.

For Rafa Mentzingen, he heard a call from God to come to the US from Brazil in order to chase his dream of being a professional soccer (or football) player. Now, as someone who is actually living out that dream with North Carolina FC of the USL League One, Rafa is showing Christ through how he plays on the soccer field.

Today we get to talk with Rafa about his story and how he understood God’s calling to come to the US to pursue this dream. Even through some really challenging times, he never questioned what God had in store for him. Listen as we discuss:

• Feeling Christ’s presence while playing
• The hardest part of coming to the US from Brazil
• Winning the USL League One Final after years of determination
• How athletes can understand what Christ is calling them to
• Staying in the present and not worrying about tomorrow
• Advice for young players that want to pursue their dreams of playing professionally

NEW MERCH IS NOW AVAILABLE!! Check out the official podcast store for brand new Competing for Christ Podcast merch including trucker hats, sweatshirts, and coffee mugs!

From every sale, half of the proceeds will go to Christian sports organizations that are making a difference for Christ in the world of sports. Use discount code CFC20 to get 20% off your order TODAY!

Subscribe to the show and share this episode!

https://www.competingforchristpodcast.com/

Need encouragement or want to come on the show?

Text me: (904) 463-5917

Email me: [email protected]

Today we’re talking about how to handle the spotlight as a Christian in sports, because whether you realize it or not, being an athlete comes with some level of notoriety no matter what country or culture you may find yourself in. You can be a high school athlete or you could be suiting up to play in the NFL or the Premier League, but at some level you’re going to have to learn how to represent Christ while on the stage of your sport. 

That is why today I invited on University of Wisconsin football player Darryl Peterson. Darryl plays in front of tens of thousands of people every single week in the fall, and it is clear to me and everyone who watches him that he is a force on that field. It is also clear who he is portraying in Christ. Throughout this interview you’ll learn:

• What it's meant to him to play Division 1 football at Wisconsin
• How his versatility has helped him as a football player and person
• Managing the spotlight since he was in high school
• Athletes being looked to as societal figures, role models, or even idols
• What has helped his faith throughout his athletic career
• What he hopes people remember him by

NEW MERCH IS NOW AVAILABLE!! Check out the official podcast store for brand new Competing for Christ Podcast merch including trucker hats, sweatshirts, and coffee mugs!

From every sale, half of the proceeds will go to Christian sports organizations that are making a difference for Christ in the world of sports. Use discount code CFC20 to get 20% off your order TODAY!

Subscribe to the show and share this episode!

https://www.competingforchristpodcast.com/

Need encouragement or want to come on the show?

Text me: (904) 463-5917

Email me: [email protected]

How do you navigate sin? How does it affect you as an athlete? What does the Bible say about sin? Well today we are going to go in-depth on what it means to not only battle against sin, but also realizing that we are all broken, sinful people that need a savior in Jesus.

Today I invited on former collegiate baseball player, influencer, and podcaster Zach Dehn to talk about this topic and things that he has learned from sin that he has battled throughout his life as an athlete, specifically in college. Zach is fully transparent and I appreciate that because as he is sinful just like everyone in this world, he trusts in Christ now more than ever and gives his sin to Him.

Today we talk about:

• What it means to him to have a relationship with Christ
• How sin affected how he played and how he navigated being an athlete
• How difficult it is to live out your faith while being around other athletes that aren't Christian
• Blending his prayer life and social media
• Why he started the Hey God Podcast

Check out the Hey God Podcast and Zach's inspirational videos on TikTok and Instagram!

NEW MERCH IS NOW AVAILABLE!! Check out the official podcast store for brand new Competing for Christ Podcast merch including trucker hats, sweatshirts, and coffee mugs!

From every sale, half of the proceeds will go to Christian sports organizations that are making a difference for Christ in the world of sports. Use discount code CFC20 to get 20% off your order TODAY!

Subscribe to the show and share this episode!

https://www.competingforchristpodcast.com/

Need encouragement or want to come on the show?

Text me: (904) 463-5917

Email me: [email protected]